Heavy snow falls in northern suburbs; cars stall and crash through evening
BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. (CBS) -- Snow was falling Thursday night across the Chicago area, with a Winter Storm Warning still in effect for Lake and McHenry counties.
As of 10 p.m., big, chunky snowflakes were still falling and piling up in Buffalo Grove, and the wind was whipping the snow around.
As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported, the drive was dicey and even dangerous in the north suburbs. Cars were seen stalling and crashing all night.
One car hit a guardrail on the Tri-State Tollway (I-94) in Lake Forest. In Glenview, a driver slid right onto the front lawn of a home.
In Mundelein, a school bus and a plow collided. None of the kids were hurt, but parents did have to pick up their kids from the scene of the accident.
Not far from that scene, there were two separate spinouts – where one driver waited for a tow.
"Out of nowhere, I hit a bump of snow, or the wind blew me – or something," said Kristina Stewart. "Something happened, and I did a full 360 - and I ended up in the ditch here, and now I'm stuck in the worst position."
In Buffalo Grove, the snow means big business for Ryan Snyder of Ryan Snow Cleaning Services.
"Now the snow is really coming down," Snyder said. "As you can see, the weather changed fast."
After weeks of warmer weather, Snyder's company has been slow this winter – until now.
"It's better for business if it's like a consistently large amount," Snyder said.
And while Snyder spreads literal salt, metaphorical salt has been added to the wounds of his business woes.
"My guys who have the truck are, you know, sick today," he said.
So Snyder was stuck just with his sedan and shovel – on a solo mission. He plans to clear 25 houses by midnight.
He said he will work late into the night, and no driveway will be left behind.
"We have to get the stuff done for our clients – so there's no excuses," Snyder said. "I think the cold keeps you on your toes."
Those who needed a tow had a longer wait time. Some companies we spoke with said on Thursday afternoon, they got behind in responding to so many spinouts and stuck drivers.